Bengal bowlers once again frittered away the advantage as Dinesh Karthik's swift counterattacking knock saw Tamil Nadu finish first day's play at 208 for five in a Ranji Trophy cricket match here today.

Tamil Nadu earned three points from the drawn encounter against Railways with a first-innings lead after only 14 overs of play was possible on the fourth and final day of their Group B Ranji Trophy match here Tuesday.

A collective effort by Tamil Nadu`s seam trio of Laxmipathy Balaji, Jagannathan Kaushik and M Mohammed helped them reduce Railways to 152 for eight after scoring 246 in their first innings in a Ranji Trophy Group B encounter at the Jamia Milia Islamia ground on Sunday.

Amid the hype surrounding Yuvraj Singh`s return after conquering cancer, pacer Laxmipathy Balaji would make a quiet comeback to the Indian cricket team, more than three-and-a-half years after his last international outing.

Unheralded Ramaswamy Prasanna scored his first century in five years before skipper Laxmipathy Balaji bowled a fiery opening spell to rip apart the Mumbai top-order as Tamil Nadu look firm favourites to enter the Ranji Trophy final.